ANAHEIM – We just witnessed history, which is fitting since it looked a lot like the recent past.

A little ugly. A lot grinding. Generally as tight as Darryl Sutter’s lips.

Kings hockey.

And, naturally, another comeback.

After waiting two decades for the first postseason game ever between the Ducks and Kings, the result didn’t come without more waiting Saturday, the Kings finally emerging as 3-2 victors 12:07 into overtime.

It only happened after Marian Gaborik scored to tie it seven seconds before the Ducks were set to take Game 1 of this second-round series.

And this series, of course, is only happening because the Kings overcame a 98.3-percent chance of losing their previous matchup to San Jose after falling behind in that one three games to none.

But deficits – along with odds and obstacles and venues – don’t seem to matter to a team that has now won three consecutive road playoff games

“We just have to focus on this series,” Kings captain Dustin Brown said. “We put that last series behind us.”

Meanwhile, everyone outside L.A.’s locker room will continue to keep the San Jose series in front of them, so impressive is this run by the Kings.

This marked their fifth consecutive victory, Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau saying they are “playing like they were when they won the Cup (in 2012).” He actually said that before this series began, but we didn’t feel the need to double-check with Boudreau afterward Saturday to make sure his opinion hadn’t changed.

Trust us, it hadn’t.

These Kings are very accomplished at ruining everything this time of year for their opponents. Saturday, they took a heartening, charming Ducks story and made it disappear quicker than they did the Sharks in Game 7 on Wednesday.

This space today was supposed to be occupied by a glorious tale about 43-year-old Teemu Selanne lifting the Ducks to a 2-1 victory. His third-period goal – Selanne’s first of this postseason – even came at 8:08 for No. 8.

We surely would have authored some classic lines and terrific word play to honor the greatest Duck of all-time and a man whose sweat exudes more charisma than Sutter’s entire being.

Instead, Selanne was rendered a footnote, which is never a good thing when all the players are wearing blades on their feet.

What we were left with were these words of respect for the winning dressing room.

“He’s a legend in this league for a reason,” Kings defenseman Drew Doughty said of Selanne. “He’s old, but he’s good.”

The greatest day in Southern California ice hockey history involving both the Ducks and the Kings began on a late afternoon with the temperature outside near 90 degrees.

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